Post by Focus on Jun 5, 2013 11:43:43 GMT
* Cressida Dick tells MPs officers will act swiftly if preachers break the law
* Reveals more than 600 officers were involved in Woolwich investigation
* Anjem Choudary filmed saying that Lee Rigby deserves no sympathy
* Rubbishes Help for Heroes and says British soldiers kill Afghan children
* Extremist calls murder suspect Michael Adebolajo a 'nice man'
Hate preacher Anjem Choudary was yesterday warned that he is being monitored ‘constantly’ to see if his ranting breaks the law.
Scotland Yard’s top counter-terrorism officer said he faces being arrested within hours if his comments cross the line.
The comments came after Choudary claimed murdered soldier Lee Rigby will ‘burn in hellfire’ as a non-Muslim, while praising suspected killer Michael Adebolajo as a martyr.
But complex laws surrounding inciting religious hatred make it difficult to build a case against him, assistant commissioner Cressida Dick said.
Surveillance : Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick told MPs that police would act swiftly if hate clerics broke the law
She suggested the extremist cleric and former head of banned extremist organization Al-Muhajiroun is careful to ensure that his preaching is inflammatory but not illegal.
She added: ‘It is true to say many so-called preachers of hate are extremely familiar with the criminal law.’
Choudary was filmed at his office in Walthamstow, north-east London, saying ‘only Allah can judge’ Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, the two men charged with Drummer Rigby’s murder, who were doing ‘what they believed to be Islamically correct’.
Choudary also launched an abusive tirade against the Help for Heroes charity. He said: ‘What kind of world are we living in? The rest of the world doesn’t think that they’re heroes.’
Choudary, a father of four who lives on benefits in East London, is being protected by police at the expense of the taxpayer because of fears he could be attacked by far-Right sympathisers.
A team of uniformed officers evacuated his family last week after a series of threats were made and then stood guard at the property.
Speaking to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday, Miss Dick said police have consulted prosecutors to see if any of his rantings have broken the law.
Rally : Anjem Choudary preaches with Woolwich suspect and Michael Adebolajo (circled) behind him at a demonstration in 2007. He called Adebolajo a 'nice man' in video rant released today
She said: ‘We constantly risk assess what is going on and a number of different people who are very high profile.
‘In the case of somebody like Mr Choudary we are constantly assessing whether any of his proclamations are breaking the criminal law.’
Miss Dick said that it is a ‘frustration’ for police that hate preachers are difficult to catch because they dodge the law by renaming extremist groups when they are banned.
She said: ‘This is definitely an issue for legislators to deal with. If there was an easy answer it would have been solved some time ago.
Message : The Hate Preacher said that suspect Michael Adebolajo (left) was a 'nice man'. Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale (right) have been charged with Lee Rigby's murder
Tragic : Drummer Lee Rigby died in the street as he walked back to his barracks in Woolwich, but Choudary says the Koran teaches that there should be no sympathy for non-Muslims
‘People can move from group to group as they are proscribed. It can be very difficult to prove any offences.’
Miss Dick declined to discuss details of the security operation for Choudary but said anyone at risk ‘whoever they may be’ can receive police protection.
The Committee was also told about the massive scale of the inquiry into Drummer Rigby’s murder.
More than 600 officers, including 100 from the national counter-terrorism network, joined the investigation at its peak.
In court : Raising his arm into a Usain Bolt pose, Michael Adebolajo kisses a copy of the Koran with his eyes closed
Exchange : Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of a member of the public gallery blowing kisses at Michael Adebolajo in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court
A total of 17 properties and six cars were searched while 2,649 pieces of evidence, as well as CCTV, were collected by police.
Miss Dick said work is continuing to discover whether there is a wider network linked to the terrorist atrocity.
Detectives from Boston, where three people were killed during the city’s marathon in April, will travel to London next week to discuss the case.
THAT 'THING' DOESN'T NEED WATCHING - 'IT' NEEDS FCKING LOCKING UP!! - Fx
